If Galway set up against Armagh the same way they did against Mayo, Jamie Clarke will beat them out the gate himself.
The Orchard county’s whippet forward enjoyed a rare excursion off the leash against Wicklow and he ran up a 2-4 tally at a canter.
For the most part though, he’s had to make do without space and time in the modern day game. He’s had to contest with two and three markers swarming him, fouling him, pushing him further away from the goals.
It’s a shame of sorts and it’s why Kieran McGeeney had trialed Clarke at half back earlier in the season and why he’s floating around the 40′ most of the time nowadays – he’s trying to at least get on the ball.
But the Crossmaglen man and his county manager must be re-watching that Connacht semi final of four weeks ago and licking their lips.
Because, whilst Galway brought aggression to the table against Mayo, whilst they hounded their west coast rivals and fouled them wherever they could as well, the space they left inside was shocking.
Aidan O’Shea was the difference in that four-point game. Well, O’Shea and Galway’s reluctance to try and stop him.
Early on, Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes threw O’Shea under the posts, probably just to test the water more than anything else. What unfolded was catastrophic. O’Shea stood in 40 metres of space for most of the game with just him and his man. So he stayed there.
So Mayo peppered him. They sickened O’Shea with ball because Galway stood and watched it go over their heads as a beast ran loose in their den. Here, poor Johnny Duane had no hope of scuppering the ball from O’Shea’s clutches and he could do nothing but hang on to him as the Mayo man caught, turned, ran and drew an easy free for O’Connor to dispatch of.
Before a quarter of an hour had even passed, Duane was relieved of his impossible duties and Finian Hanley was moved on to man mark O’Shea. But that was seemingly the only answer. Go toe-to-toe with one of the best footballers in Ireland in what was just a two-on-two inside the 45′. No-one thought of tightening it up with an extra body, with a deeper lying half back line. Just let someone else hang out to dry.
The pattern repeated itself incessantly. O’Shea was winning ball, he was drawing frees before the ball even came in (see above), he was turning, he was running and he forced an awful goal out of sheer ignorance. He just ran and ran and spread panic throughout the Galway rearguard, Manus Breathnach eventually just boot the ball off his own man and into the net.
But the freedom O’Shea was given was genuinely surreal and Armagh must be thinking ‘what if’.
The Ulster men have been used to Jamie Clarke going further afield to get ball, trying to drive at teams and turning provider.
This was his standard position against Donegal as the Ulster champions sat with five or six free men behind the ball watching him carry from the 65′.
McGeeney will throw him in early doors against Galway and, if Kevin Walsh fails to adjust, neither Johnny Duane or Finian Hanley will be able to do anything about it.
If the Tribesmen do adjust, Armagh might still look at the example set by what was a battering ram Aidan O’Shea performance.
The Orchard County switched Stefan Campbell from midfield into full forward early doors against Donegal but they didn’t even get to try it out as Rory Gallagher’s men wreaked absolute havoc at the other end.
It is an avenue they could exploit though because it will give Galway a couple of nervy headaches, it will detract attention from Clarke but it will free up the rest of Armagh’s runners from out the field to get forward.
When it comes to running though, the westerners have it in spades.
Gary Sice’s goal against Mayo the last day was outrageous but it derived from pure running power.
The attack starts from deep, Sice gets off the leash and offers an overlap.
The wing forward leaves one man on his arse and he bears down on goal with sheer directness and purpose. The rest is beautiful history.
The second goal, the one that threw them a lifeline in the second period, was even better.
Whereas Cork have marked themselves out as the real danger in this game with a frightening display of running power against Kerry, Galway can do it too. An attack that started with a kickout was virtually walked into the net as the maroon jerseys went at Mayo with no fear and certainly with very little respect.
You take a man on and the whole thing opens up in front of you and Danny Cummins’ goal showed how cutting and powerful the Galway attack can be in full flow.
That was against an open Mayo side as well though.
That was against a team who left their backline more exposed than what Armagh will allow. You run at an Armagh or a Donegal or a Monaghan or a Dublin, you take on one of their men and you have another man in your face. You don’t have open grass.
So Galway must adapt. They must adapt defensively and they must adapt to find more than 10 scores at the other end.
Otherwise, Jamie Clarke will put this one to bed on his own.
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